Confucius Temple and Qinhuai scenery

Nanjing Confucius Temple is for consecrating and worshipping Confucius, the great thinker and educator of ancient China. The Confucius Temple (Fuzimiao) was originally built during the Song Dynasty and is situated on the north bank of the Qinhuai River. The Song Dynasty was a period of great Confucian revivalism and the temple here is considered to be one of the best preserved of its type in China. During the Ming Dynasty the temple was expanded and became a school for children of the imperial court. The buildings on both sides of the Temple which are now small tourist shops were once individual study rooms for Confucian scholars. These architectures were ruined and rebuilt for several times. The Confucius Temple once was rebuilt in Qing Dynasty (A.D.1869) but was serious fired and destroyed by the Japanese aggressor troops in 1937. In order to protect the old city, the Chinese Government appropriated funds to rebuild and fix the Confucius Temple. Today, the entire area around the Temple consists of a series of tourist shops, snack bars, restaurants and entertainment arcades all done up in "Ming" and "Qing" style architecture. Its splendid civilization to the world has been regarded the special scenery of Nanjing. In 1991, the Confucius Temple was elected the "Forty Best Scenery Spots". From of old, Confucius Temple always likes a headgear of emperors. Writers, poems, militarists and politicians nationwide created great achievements in Qinhuai area, such as: Fan li, Zhou Yu, Wang Dao, Xie An, Li Bai, Du Mu, Wu JingZi, etc.

The Qinhuai River flows in front of the Temple and there is also a 110-meter-long screen stonewall (the largest in the nation) nearby, which can be viewed from the bridge crossing the river in front of the Temple. A beautiful Lantern Show is held at the Temple during the 1st to the 18th days of the Lunar Year. Now, the Qinhuai River and the Nanjing Confucius Temple has been a tourist resort well-known.